Apple will use American-made chips from TSMC’s new Phoenix fab
Apple plans to start using processors made in America following the opening of an advanced new chip factory in Phoenix, Arizona.“These chips will power iPhones and MacBooks, as Tim Cook can attest,” President Joe Biden said at an event outside the Arizona factory on Tuesday.Apple, AMD and NVIDIA are among its largest customers, and even Intel relies on TSMC to make the most advanced processors.
All told, TSMC said it will invest $40 billion in its Arizona capacity, which is among the largest foreign direct investments ever made in US manufacturing.The two fabs will produce more than 600,000 wafers annually by 2026, which White House officials said will be enough to meet the entire US demand for advanced chips.
TSMC customers did not disclose how many chips they plan to purchase from these fabs, but at 3nm and 4nm, the Arizona chips will be more advanced than what they currently use.Still, by the time these Arizona fabs are both up and running, TSMC will already be producing more advanced chips at overseas facilities.The semiconductor shortage cost Apple some $6 billion in lost sales, and the company has recently said it plans to buy more chips from Europe and US fabs to counter supply issues.Foreign companies will be eligible for these incentives so long as they are building US production capacity, and TSMC has already publicly stated that it will apply for CHIPS funding.
Micron, which makes memory and storage chips, said in October that it will spend up to $100 billion to build a “megafab” in New York